Hewlett Neck resident Samantha Cohen contacted the Village of Cedarhurst and had Mayor Andrew J. Parise join with other government entities and the United Nations in proclaiming Oct. 11, the International Day of the Girl. From left were, NCJW Generation: Next coordinator Pam Sheldon, Parise, Cohen and her father, Shlomo Cohen.

Hewlett High School junior Samantha Cohen, a member of Generation: Next, the teenage group connected with the National Council of Jewish Women, Peninsula Section, spearheaded an effort to have the Village of Cedarhurst join with other municipalities and the United Nations to declare Oct. 11, the International Day of the Girl.

Cohen, a Hewlett Neck resident and a facilitator of the Day of the Girl Proclamation Project, sent a letter to Cedarhurst Mayor Andrew J. Parise in September.

The mayor responded and in a brief ceremony in Village Hall presented Cohen with a village proclamation. A proclamation was also sent to Cohen from Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano. Cohen and the NCJW are trying to contact Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign on.

“To represent women all over the world and the struggles they face,” Cohen said, when asked why she took part in the campaign.

“The Day of the Girl” campaign wants communities throughout the world to recognize that girls face many injustices and discrimination in receiving equal access to education, gender stereotyping and domestic violence.